overcame a strong start by Hagerstown harrier Wade Miller en route to a record-setting victory in the fifth and final Fire on the Mountain 50K race on Sunday in Green Ridge State Forest.

Daigeaun, 34, of Philadelphia, Pa., is a member of the Virginia Happy Trail Running Club. In 2012, fellow VHTRC member Brad Hinton established the then-course record of 4 hours, 38 minutes and 7.1 seconds in what remains the closest finish in race history (42 seconds over runner-up Adam Hill, of Ontario).

On Sunday, Daigeaun paced with Miller, a 24-year-old established short-distance road racer competing in his first ultra early on. And through Aid Station 2 at Mile 8.9, Miller was ahead — by more than a little.

But midway through the green trail, the second of four separate sections of the 32-mile point-to-point footrace, Miller went left when the directional arrow and orange ribbon indicated he should continue straight. The wrong turn, coupled with stomach cramps lingering from a nearly week-old bug, led Miller to a group camp site in Green Ridge — far off course — asking for a ride.

That left the race, and the record attempt, to Daigeaun, who finished in 4:31:59.5.

Kevin Spradlin | PHDCAmy Brockey (in pink) turns onto the red trail, the first of four sections of the 32-mile, point-to-point Fire on the Mountain 50K in Green Ridge State Forest.

Amy Brockey, meanwhile, finished first in what is the closest finish among female contenders in event history. Brockey, 34, of Frederick, crossed the finish line in 6:34:35.3 — less than 90 seconds ahead of Potomac Highlands Distance Club member Megan Hamilton, 38, of Ridgeley, W.Va. (6:36:02.3).

The two were captured by PHDC photographer MacKenzie Spradlin as they came off the green trail and approached the midway point via the hill that is Kirk Road.

MacKenzie Spradlin| PHDCAmy Brockey, left, and Megan Hamilton approach the midway point still side by side on Sunday at the fifth annual Fire on the Mountain 50K.

]]>http://www.phdispatch.com/daigeaun-sets-course-record-in-fotm-finale/feed/0FOTM 2014 race updatehttp://www.phdispatch.com/fotm-2014-race-update/
http://www.phdispatch.com/fotm-2014-race-update/#commentsFri, 24 Oct 2014 19:01:36 +0000http://www.phdispatch.com/?p=3786A call for volunteers, a reminder of the race weekend timeline of events and a special statement about race T-shirts.

We are in desperate need for volunteers. Remember, this is a trail race — trail runners know to be self-sufficient. However, to more thoroughly enjoy your race-day experience, it’d be great if some people would step up and help this one last time. Please email peedeepost@gmail.com if interested in helping.

* There will be no race-day registration or payments accepted on race morning. All this must be completed by 4 p.m. Saturday.

.

A special statement on race shirts

Due to professional and family obligations, the design and production order for the Fire on the Mountain 50K race shirts for the 2014 event, scheduled for Oct. 26, was never placed.

This is one of many downsides of the race director living 450 miles away from the venue and a reason why this is the fifth and final Fire on the Mountain footrace in Green Ridge State Forest (and the final race of the Potomac Highlands Distance Club).

The phrase “no refunds” was plastered on all race-related material. However, as RD I am modifying that statement to this:

If you paid for a shirt, and you show up to claim your bib number, you will be issued a refund check of $18 either on Saturday during bib number pick-up

If you are not there to claim your bib number and paid for a shirt, you’re out of luck — but you’d be out of luck anyway because you wouldn’t be refunded under any other condition, either.

If you are running in place of another runner, and that runner paid for a shirt, that runner’s still out of luck because he or she is not there to collect a refund for the shirt.

I’m really sorry about this, everyone, and hate letting you down. But it’s because of my inability to meet your needs in areas like that behind the move to make this the last Fire on the Mountain 50K. What is promised Sunday is a 32-mile footrace through the wonder that is Green Ridge State Forest, a start line and a finish line … simply put, a great day in the woods.

FROSTBURG, Md. — Adam Lowe shaved off 89 seconds from last year’s Run for Gold Metric Marathon performance to the same race on Saturday.

Adam Lowe, in the white PHDC singlet, leads the fields from the start of the 3rd annual Run for Gold Metric Marathon presented by Heavenly Prints Digital Media.

Better yet, he moved up three spots — to the point where none were left to chase.

Lowe, 32, of Mechanicsville, Md., completed the third annual Run for Gold Metric Marathon, presented by Heavenly Prints Digital Media, in 1 hour, 45 minute and 38.6 seconds to earn the overall win in a field of 53 individual finishers and two relay teams.

The race is a point-to-point event along the Great Allegheny Passage from Meyersdale, Pa., to the Frostburg (Md.) Depot. The terrain features a softer, low-impact rail trail with a 7.5-mile gradual ascent to the Eastern Continental Divide at the start and, from the half-mile-long Big Savage Tunnel near the Maryland-Pennsylvania border, and an 8-mile descent from the tunnel to the bottom of the switchbacks below the Frostburg Depot.

The race ends with a 0.45-mile zigzagging climb up the switchbacks to the depot.

“Two minutes faster than last year,” Lowe said after crossing the finish line. “I’ll take it.”

Erica Maloney gives the thumbs up as she approaches the Frostburg Depot and the Run for Gold Metric Marathon finish line.

He earned it. Michael Pease, 39, of Pittsburgh, went out with Lowe for the first mile-plus but backed off. He knew the pace set by Lowe was too much for him and could hope only that Lowe might suffer for the early punishing pace later on. He didn’t. Lowe’s winning time was nearly seven minutes of Pease, who stopped the clock in 1:52:21.4. Chad Merrill, 33, of Hagerstown, Md., was third overall — and the final runner under the two-hour barrier — in 1:56:42.8.

James Edgar, 45, of Allison Park, Pa., was the top Masters (40-plus) runner. Edgar finished seventh overall in 2:07:36.8. Ray Hunt, 51, of LaVale, Md., was top Grand Masters (50-plus). Hunt placed 31st overall in 2:39:06, considerably faster than his 2:50:59.2 performance from a year ago.

There was considerable competition among the men’s Senior Grand Masters (60-plus). David Dames, 62, of Pittsburgh, finished 38th in 2:53;11 while Jim Myers, 64, of York Haven, Pa., was just behind him in 2:54:18.3. John Means, 69, of Hagerstown, Md., was a few spots down in the standings with a 3:01:30 (43rd overall).

While only two women cracked the top 14 in the 2013 Run for Gold, they fared much better this year as women took six of the top 15 spots in the overall standings. Erica Maloney, 33, of Verona, Pa., led the way with a 2:03:36.7 effort, good for fifth overall.

Elisa Edgar, 42, of Allison Park, claimed the women’s Masters title with a 2:08:11.4. She took second in the women’s standings and eighth overall. Caitlin Helsel, 25, of Munhall, Pa., rounded out the top three females by placing ninth in 2:08:28.5.

KEYSER, W.Va. — Seven of the first eight finishers of the 25th running of the Independence 5K were from West Virginia, but that didn’t stop Maryland runners from taking home some of the coveted prizes.

File photo by TriStateRunnurWoody Snoberger

The event, sponsored by the Keyser Kiwanis Breakfast Club, features a double out-and-back course that appears flat but has a slight incline that runners feel more than spectators see. Mineral County school teacher Woody Snoberger, 29, of Ridgeley, was the first of 96 finishers to stop the clock on Saturday morning. The turnout was an 81 percent increase from the 2013 field, which featured only 53 5K finishers.

Snoberger’s winning time of 16:56.7 was the second-fastst overall time on the course since 2009, behind only Ryan Bowser’s 16:45.8 in 2013.

Young Leland Henderson, 16, of Keyser, was second overall in 17:20.4 while Robbie Jenkins, 30, of Ridgeley, was third in 17:49.4.

Tony Yurko, 51, of Cumberland, Md., was fifth overall and earned the men’s masters division as the first 40-and-over finisher with a time of 18:56.2. In seventh was Bradford Deel, 51, of distant Scott Depot. Deel’s time of 19:34 earned him the men’s grand masters (50-and-over) award and Larry Ferrens, 60, of Barton, Md., rounded out the top 10 with a 20:47.9 performance.

File photo by TriStateRunnurJen Sober

Jen Sober, 41, of McHenry, Md., was more than a full minute off her 2013 performance (19:53.3) but still managed to lead all female finishers with a time of 20:54.6. It was Sober’s third consecutive Independence 5K victory, including a 19:15 in 2012. Andie Myers, 36, of Oakland, Md., was second in 22:19.9 and young India Yates, 17, of Fort Ashby, was third in 22:54.9.

Kristi Yates, 42, of Fort Ashby, was the first 40-and-over female (24:33.7) and earned the women’s masters award while Nancy Bowling, 57, of Frostburg, Md., was 39th overall in 25:57.7, good for women’s grand masters champion.

JENNINGS-RANDOLPH LAKE, W.Va. — Naomi Boddy had little room for error on Saturday as she sought to win her second consecutive Conquer the Dam 5K race at Jennings-Randolph Lake.

Too bad for the competition, Boddy didn’t slip — not even a half a stride. The 39-year-old New Creek harrier outdistanced Krystal Stair by 32.7 seconds for the win. Boddy finished in 25 minutes and 26.2 seconds — slower than last year’s winning time (23:12.8) but still ahead of the rest of the women’s field. Stair finished second in 25:58.9 while Sarah Boddy, 19, of New Creek, took third in 26:07.8.

The top three men finished within 12.4 seconds of each other. David Redman, 28, of Keyser, earned the overall win in 22:25.5. Steven Lowery, 19, of Ellerslie, Md., was a very close second in 22:26.3 and Jesse Wilson, 17, of Keyser, finished third in 22:37.9.

SHENANDOAH JUNCTION, W.Va., April 26, 2014 — Jefferson High School product Cody Marsh won his second consecutive Sam Michaels Obstacle Challenge on Saturday at Sam Michaels Park. This time, though, the 22-year-old Harpers Ferry man completed the 5K (3.1-mile) course a lot faster.

Marsh shaved more than two minutes off his winning time. He was the first of 120 to cross the finish line; Marsh did it in 21 minutes, 25.2 seconds – a course record. He also won in 2013, the event’s inaugural year, in 23:25.3.

Jason Beard, 28, of Martinsburg, was second in 25:13 and Paul Marshall, 54, of Shepherdstown, was third in 25:33.8.

In the women’s race, young Miriam Maltese — only 14 years old — stopped the clock in 26:12.6 to earn the title of women’s champion. Her course-record time shaved more than seven minutes off last year’s top female, Allison Nasteff (33:22.1). Jennifer Seaton, 38, of Harpers Ferry, was second this year in 30:40 while Julie Hutchinson, 34, of Shepherdstown, was third in 32:43.

Proceeds from the event benefit The Outdoor Education Center of For Love of Children, located in Harpers Ferry. The center facilitates healthy character development for youth and adults through adventure challenges, environmental education, and sustainability practices in a powerful outdoor classroom where experiential learning inspires individual potential and leads participants toward discovering connections between the natural world and their communities.

SHEPHERDSTOWN, W.Va., April 5, 2014 — The rain cleared and the sun came out to greet nearly 400 runners in the annual This Race is for the Birds events at the National Conservation Training Center in Shepherdstown, W.Va. The day consists of a 7-plus mile race, a 4-plus mile race, a 2.2-mile run/walk and a 1-mile kids fun fun.

Preliminary results have been posted (5:45 p.m. Saturday). Age group divisions will be updated soon (still looking for ages of a few runners).

Thanks to race director Krista Hawley and the many, many volunteers who helped make this race a huge success once again this year. Even the weather cooperated – as the rain stopped but not before leaving plenty of mud on the trails for the long distance runners to enjoy. What’s not to love about that?

The last month, his training’s been off. Less than ideal. But first to the finish line is exactly where he saw himself after conquering the 32-mile point-to-point trail race on Sunday in Green Ridge State Forest in the hills of Western Maryland.

The 4th annual Fire on the Mountain 50K (fueled by Sheetz) has been named the Maryland RRCA 50K Championship.

McMonagle, 23, a California resident with ties to Bel Air, Md., was one of three twenty-somethings in the top four finishers. He crossed the line in 5 hours, 2 minutes and 7.7 seconds — seventh fastest all-time in the event’s brief four-year history.

Though he won by more than three minutes, it was closer than that, McMonagle insisted.

“It was a race the whole time,” he said.

And for a while, it looked as if it’d be a race he would lose. McMonagle was in a pack of contenders at the “oasis,” which is Aid Station 4 and midway along the 32-mile route. Two of the three difficult trail sections were done and McMonagle had held his own, but after 4.2 miles on forest service roads as the group headed to Aid Station 5, it seemed as if McMonagle was faltering.

Instead, it appeared as if Zaruba (3rd in 2010, 5:03:41 and 7th in 2012, 5:15:20.4), Sanford or Damtoft would win. As those three crossed the wooden bridge, McMonagle’s legs appeared slow. Turns out he was just getting into his second wind.

Zaruba later said he suffered leg cramps. That happens on a course with such varying terrain — breathtaking ascents, rocks and roots and descents on hard-packed forest service roads three miles long. As soon as a runner’s legs tell the body this is what’s going to happen, the surface, and the challenges that come with it, change.

In the women’s race, 25-year-old Sarah Colwell, of Frederick, Md., won by more than 18 minutes. It was her debut at the ultra marathon distance. Colwell posted the third-fastest time by a female in the history of the course — and only 15.5 seconds behind second place. Colwell stopped the clock in 5:40:50.9, good for 10th place overall.

Carla Williams, 26, of Baltimore, Md., was second in 5:59:11.6 (fifth all-time) and Angela Russell, 37, of New Market, Md., took third in 6:05:25.5 (sixth all-time).